BRIEF ENCOUNTER

Education Pack

Supported by the Noël Coward Foundation

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 Contents
• Introduction by Emma Rice: 3-5

• Background Information: 6-7

• Synopsis of the Play: 8-9

• Cast and Characters: 10-12

• Staging of the Play: 13

• In Discussion with Isabel Pollen: 14-15

• Noel Coward’s Life and Work: 16-18

• Noel Coward timeline: 19-25

• 1940’s Britain: 26-27

• Activities: 28-36

• Useful Links: 37
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 Introduction
‘Brief Encounter’
A very grown-up fairy tale

by Emma Rice, director and adaptor

In Still Life, later to become Brief Encounter, Noel Coward wrote

a play about an affair. Not a sordid affair but a love affair between
two married people. An impossible affair, a painful affair, an
unacceptable affair. It is written with such empathy, such
observation, and such tender agony. This man knew what he
was writing about. Imagine being gay in the 1930s and you begin
to understand Brief Encounter.

Imagine the impossibility of expressing the most fundamental of

human needs and emotions. Imagine the enforced shame, lies
and deceit. Imagine the frustration, imagine the loss, and
imagine the anger. Each of these emotions is delicately and
Britishly traced through the meetings of our lovers. They
experience a micro marriage, a relationship from beginning to
end in a few short hours – and how many of us cannot relate to
this careful and painful liaison? Not many, I'm sure. Can many of
us go through a lifetime without meeting someone and feeling a
spark of recognition that we shouldn't, an attraction that goes
beyond the physical? And what a terrible world it would be if our
emotions and spirits and psyches were amputated at the
altar. And here is where real life ends and folk tales begin.

In the language of stories, we are able to examine the bargains

that human beings make. We see how we bargain our own
needs, the needs of the self, for various reasons. These reasons
will be familiar to us all: the fear of being alone or of being
excluded from 'normal' life. In the language of folk stories the

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price of this bargain is often physical. A part of the body is
chopped off - a hand (The Handless Maiden) or feet (The Red
Shoes). We literally cut a part of ourselves off in order to conform
or to be accepted. In Brief Encounter, both our lovers have
chopped off part of themselves. It is delicately referred to, but
Laura talks of swimming wild and free and of playing the piano.
Both of these are forms of personal expression - not pleasing
anyone but exploring the deep waters of the soul. Alec turns into
a child when he talks of his passions, and fears that Laura will
be bored. These are people trapped by the bargains that they
have freely made - they have bargained their inner lives for
stability, family and love. Oh yes, love. I don't for a moment
believe that their marriages are all bad or that they are in any
way victims. Presumably, their respective partners are as
trapped by their own bargains and by the rules of society itself.
None of us are victims, but we can review the bargains we make
and escape in a profound way.

I have been reading many Selkie stories whilst making this piece.
In these stories, a fisherman falls in love with a Selkie - or Seal
Woman - whom he sees dancing on the rocks having slipped out
of her sealskin. She too, falls for him. He takes her home and
hides her skin. He cares for her and she for him; they have
children and live a life of contentment.

One day, she finds her old skin in a cupboard. She washes and
dresses the children, kisses them goodbye, puts on her sealskin
and dives back into the sea. She never returns but sometimes
the children will see a beautiful seal swimming far out at sea.
This teaches us about our true self. No matter how much we try
to repress our feelings or how much we wish to conform, our true
self will always emerge. There can be no happily ever after until
this true self, or nature has been accepted and embraced.

In the language of folk tales, in order to find one's true self, it is

often vital that there is a near-death experience before our
heroes and heroines can begin to heal and to re-form. In

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Sleeping Beauty and Snow White our heroines are unconscious,
almost dead, for long periods of time. In Brief Encounter our
lovers also die spiritually when they part. 'I never want to feel
anything again,' says Laura. This deep depression is an
essential part of the process of change. It is something to be
endured, understood and then moved away from. The end of the
affair is not the end of hope or of love. It is part of the process of
change. Alec will travel and see the world in a wider context.
Laura will have to re-imagine herself, not just as a 'respectable
wife and mother' but as a person in her own right.

My hope is that, like the Seal Woman, Alec and Laura escape.
Not with each other in some idealistic romantic way but an
escape provoked by the profound and personal awakening they
felt when they met. We humans are fearful by nature - it is often
somebody else who provides the catalyst for change but they are
not the cause. Change can only happen from within. After our
story ends, I like to think that our lovers will change. I imagine
that Alec will make a real difference in Africa and find an expanse
of spirit that seems untouchable in our story. I hope and dream
that Laura will take up the piano again and perform on the world's
greatest and most awe-inspiring stages.

As I write this, I wonder if these are, in fact, my dreams? That is

the power of a great and enduring story; we can all own it and
feel it and find something of ourselves in it.

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 Background Information
The film ‘Brief Encounter’, was written by Noel Coward and
premiered in 1944. It was based on a one act play that he had
written in 1936 entitled ‘Still Life’ in which a love affair takes
place between two married people.

It is no secret that the story parallels the emotions felt by

Coward as a gay man living in Britain in the 1930’s.
Constrained by the judgemental and prudish society of that era,
Coward experienced first-hand the anguish of not being to love
freely.

Most of the filming of ‘Brief Encounter’ took place at Carnforth

railway station in Lancashire. It has been suggested that this
location was chosen because of its distance from the South
East of England. Britain was still at war and blackouts were
necessary and Carnforth was thought to be sufficiently far
enough away to receive advanced warning of impending attack,
thus giving time to turn out the filming lights.

Coward chose the soundtrack for the film, Rachmaninoff’s

Second Piano Concerto and David Lean was the director.
The two co-stars were Trevor Howard and Celia Johnson.
Howard was an unknown actor at the time and was not the first
choice for the role. Lean originally wanted Roger Livesey but
after seeing Howard in a rough cut of ‘The Way to the Stars’ he
changed his mind.

Celia Johnson on the other hand was always the director’s

choice. It was Celia who needed convincing that the film was
for her. She didn’t enjoy making films and it wasn’t until
Coward read the part to her that she wanted to do it.

When the film was first released, it was banned by the

censorship board in Ireland who felt it portrayed the adulterers
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in a sympathetic light. Elsewhere though the film was well
received and director David Lean received his first Oscar
nomination for his work on ‘Brief Encounter’.

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 Synopsis of the Play
Brief Encounter is a romantic drama set in 1945, during
World War II. The action takes place around Milford Junction
railway station, a fictional station where the main characters
Laura Jesson and Doctor Alec Harvey meet by chance in the
refreshment room. Both characters are married to another, but
there is a strong attraction between them and after a couple of
chance meetings they soon become more than just friends.

Laura is married to Fred whom she describes as ‘not at all

emotional’ a description we later understand to mean lacking in
passion. They have two children and appear to lead a
financially comfortable life. Every week Laura travels to town to
do some shopping and to go the cinema, and it is on one of
these trips that she meets Alec. Laura has some grit in her eye
and goes to the refreshment room for help; it is Alec who offers
assistance. Through their feelings for each other the couple
soon realise what is missing from their lives and the story then
follows their anguish at discovering that neither of them is truly
happily married.

Alec is keen to meet regularly with Laura and soon they are
spending every weekly meeting engaging in a form of courtship
– going to the cinema together, boating on the lake and dining
in restaurants. Before long, it is clear that Laura and Alec have
a strong desire to take their affair further. Laura is hesitant,
constantly ridden by the guilt, but eventually she agrees to
Alec’s suggestion that they meet at his friends flat, presumably
to consummate their relationship. Their plan is spoiled however
as Alec’s friend returns home early and Laura, riddled with
shame, scurries away hurriedly.

Alec later catches up with Laura and they face the harsh reality
that their affair cannot continue. Alec breaks the news to Laura
that he has accepted a post in South Africa where he can
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pursue his passions as a doctor. They arrange to meet for a
final goodbye the following week. As they agonize over their
parting and the end of their affair they are interrupted by a
friend of Laura’s. Their final goodbye is then spoilt as they fight
to conceal their feelings in front of this intruder. Alec’s train
arrives and Laura is left with her friend, wondering what might
have been. In a moment of despair she runs to the bridge over
the railway line and looks as though she is going to end her life
by jumping in front of the express train. Something stops her
though and she returns home to Fred, the children and her
marriage.

Throughout the play, juxtaposed with Laura and Alec’s love

affair are the affairs of Myrtle, the tea room manageress with
Albert, the station master and Beryl, the tea room waitress with
Stanley, the cake seller. In stark contrast to Laura and Alec,
both of these couples are free to love and pursue their affairs.
Myrtle and Albert are somewhat jaded by love, but are not
romantically linked to any other and Beryl and Stanley are
finding love for the first time.

Photo: Steve Tanner

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 Cast and Characters
Dr. Alec Harvey
(Jim Sturgeon)
Good looking, kind and flirtatious
Dr. Harvey feels an instant
attraction to Laura after getting
some grit out of her eye at
Milford Railway Station. He is
married with two children and a
successful career.

‘If you’d die, you’d forget me. I

want to be remembered.’

Laura Jesson
(Isabel Pollen)

Gentle, attractive and mild

mannered, Laura Jesson thinks
she is happily married until she
meets Dr. Harvey. She has two
children and a husband, Fred,
whom she feels guilty betraying.

‘This can’t last. This misery can’t

last….Nothing lasts really.
Neither happiness or despair.’

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Fred Jesson / Albert
Godby (Dean Nolan)

Fred Jesson, husband of Laura,

is a dependable, unemotional
and reliable man. He is a creature
of habit and routine.

‘You’ve been a long way

away……Thank you for coming
back to me’.

Albert Godby is a jovial, fun

loving man who enjoys flirting
with Mrs. Baggot in the
refreshment room.

‘…you look wonderful when

you’re angry…., just like an
avenging angel’.

Myrtle Bagot
(Lucy Thackeray)

Mrs. Bagot likes to appear to

others as a strict, upstanding
lady who commands respect
from others. She is in fact just as
fun loving as Albert with whom
she enjoys regular liaisons!

‘If you don’t learn to behave

yourself - there won’t be a tonight’

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Beryl, Waitress
(Beverly Rudd)
Beryl is a wonderfully naive
young woman who works for
Mrs. Bagot in the tearoom. She
fancies Stanley the cake seller
and enjoys flirting with him.

‘Mother will be waiting up’.

Stanley, Cake Seller

(Jos Slovick)

Happy go lucky Stanley fancies

Beryl and spends most of his
time winking at her and playing
the fool to make her laugh.

‘Are you walking home?’

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 Staging of the Play

Photo: Steve Tanner

Photo: Steve Tanner

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 In Discussion
Matt Wolf spoke to Isabel Pollen, who plays Laura Jesson, for
Broadway.com
How familiar were you in advance with this production, which has been the
signature show to date of its director-adaptor Emma Rice and her Cornwall-
based Kneehigh company?
I hadn’t seen this particular play before, which may not have been such a bad
thing since it meant I could come at it as a bit of a blank. Having said that, Emma
is quite an inclusive director, so it does feel as if everyone has left a bit of their
DNA on the piece.

Didn’t you know Emma, even

if you hadn’t seen this
production?
Yes, I had met her through an
audition when I was at the
Royal Shakespeare Company,
and she remembered me! She
really does clock actors in
way that directors generally
don’t. I first got to know her
helping to develop a stage
production of Rebecca, but I
was busy having a baby at the
time, who is now almost two,
so I was thrilled when this
came along and I could work Photo: Steve Tanner
with her again.

What is it about this title that endures, whether as Noel Coward’s original
play Still Life or as his celebrated screenplay for the 1945 David Lean movie?
I think it’s that you get to see three different love stories. The central one
between my character, Laura, and Jim [co-star Jim Sturgeon] as Alec is the love
story that cannot happen, so we get to experience what it could have been and
then that gets taken away.

But the film and the play don’t stop there, do they?
What’s fantastic is that you also get the glorious stories of Myrtle and Albert at the
station, which is a mature love and a wonderful love to be celebrated, and then
you’ve got a third story, which is of young love and wonderfully clumsy and new
and embarrassing and exciting.

How does the production deal with all this?

Very knowingly! You get these three insights into love and then Emma adds to
them the Kneehigh style of theatre, where all senses are exploded: you’ve got
music, you’ve got dance, and you’ve got the playfulness of theatre. There’s this

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rollercoaster of tears and laughter and fun and tragedy and everything you want,
really—and it all happens in 90 minutes, which is not a bad thing.

What’s your take on Laura herself?

I think of her as a very good woman with a strong moral compass which is then
held up at her: she meets somebody with immense magnetic charm and decides
she’s going to go off track a little bit and then she decides, “No, actually.” But she
does enjoy the slight risk of it for a little bit.

How has it been working with Jim [Sturgeon], on a play where chemistry is
crucial?
I knew of Jim and he knew of me, but we’d never met. As soon as I auditioned with
him, I thought, “Oh yes, I can see why this chap has been chosen.” It’s just one of
those partnerships that really works. He’s fun, he’s direct, he’s professional: he’s
all the things you want in Alec, and we have a lot of fun together, which is hugely
important to me.

Was it important to you to watch the time-honoured film of Brief

Encounter, with the venerable Celia Johnson as Laura?
I wanted to see the film as soon I knew about the part! That was to do with
honouring the piece, but I think it’s also part of the homework: you do as much
preparation as you can, but not so much so that you are blindly following suit.
Funnily enough, where I live in London [Richmond, towards the west of the capital]
is where Celia Johnson lived as well, so I definitely have been walking with her
spirit.

Have you taken a renewed interest in railway stations since joining this
production—given how crucial they are to the unfolding relationship between
Laura and Alec?
There’s a little bit of that going on for me, yes. What’s amazing about train
stations is that they are great people-watching places, just like airports or any
place of transition. I’ve really enjoyed watching couples, particularly, getting on
or off trains: that fundamental action is the same in 2018 as it was in 1945.

What do you think of the abundance of music in the show, which ranges from
Noel Coward standards to Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2?
I listened to Noel Coward all during my [drama school] training, and it’s such a joy
to have the richness of his wit. And it’s almost like Rachmaninoff saw the David
Lean film and wrote the music for it—even though he didn’t.
This interview originally appeared on Broadway.com. https://www.theatre.com/buzz/191333/brief-encounter-
london-star-isabel-pollen-on-romance-railway-stations-rachmaninoff/

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 Sir Noël Coward
1899 – 1973
Noël Peirce Coward was born on 16th
December 1899 in Teddington, Middlesex,
England to Arthur Coward (sometime piano
salesman) and Violet (soon to become the
archetypal ‘stage mother’).

He made his professional stage debut as Prince

Mussel in The Goldfish at the age of 12, which
led to many child actor appearances in the next few years,
amongst them Slightly in Peter Pan – which later caused critic
Kenneth Tynan to remark – “Forty years ago he was Slightly in
Peter Pan and you might say that he has been wholly in Peter
Pan ever since.”

Several of his own early plays reached the London stage briefly
but it was the controversial THE VORTEX (1924) that proved to
be the breakthrough. With its overt references to drugs and
adultery, it made his name as both actor and playwright in the
West End and on Broadway.

Noël seemed to epitomize the spirit of the frenzied 1920s and a

string of successful plays ensued – HAY FEVER (1925),
FALLEN ANGELS (1925) and EASY VIRTUE (1926), as well
as several intimate revues for which he wrote words and music
such as LONDON CALLING (1923) and THIS YEAR OF
GRACE! (1928). He also wrote his first ‘book’ musical BITTER
SWEET (1929) which was a huge hit in the West End and on
Broadway

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The momentum continued into the 1930s. PRIVATE LIVES
(1930) saw him appearing with a childhood friend, Gertrude
(‘Gertie’) Lawrence and that partnership continued
professionally with TONIGHT AT 8.30 (1936). CAVALCADE,
produced at Drury Lane in 1931 was adapted for film and won a
Best Picture Oscar in 1932. His revue WORDS AND MUSIC
was produced in London in 1932 and introduced a young John
Mills to the London stage.

Writer, actor, director, film producer, painter, songwriter,

cabaret artist as well as an author of verse, essays and
autobiographies, he was called by close friends ‘The Master’, a
title of which he was secretly proud.

As World War II broke out he had two plays waiting to be

produced – THIS HAPPY BREED and PRESENT LAUGHTER
– but they would have to wait until 1943. Meanwhile, there was
BLITHE SPIRIT (1941), a subversive comedy that ran longer
than the war.

‘Noël’s War’ was an active one… troop concerts at home and

overseas… touring in plays… producing classic films such as
IN WHICH WE SERVE (which he co-directed with a young
David Lean as well as writing the score and playing the lead)
and BRIEF ENCOUNTER… and acting as an unofficial spy for
the Foreign Office!

The post-war years saw his star in temporary eclipse. Austerity

Britain – the London critics determined – was out of tune with
the brittle Coward wit. His plays enjoyed only modest success
but Noël responded by ‘re-inventing’ himself as a cabaret and
TV star, particularly in America. In 1955 he played a sell-out
cabaret season at the Desert Inn, Las Vegas which led a live
TV spectacular on CBS with Mary Martin – TOGETHER WITH
MUSIC. He perfomed many of his hit songs written from the
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1920s onwards including MAD ABOUT THE BOY, IF LOVE
WERE ALL, MAD DOGS AND ENGLISHMEN and I’LL SEE
YOU AGAIN. All in all he wrote over 600 songs.

He left the UK in the mid-1950s and settled in Jamaica and

Switzerland.

In the early 1960s critical opinion in Britain turned yet again. He

became the first living playwright to be performed by the
National Theatre when he directed HAY FEVER there. ‘Dad’s
Renaissance’ – as Noël gleefully dubbed it – was underway
and has never faltered since. He and his work are today more
popular – and on a worldwide scale – than ever before.

Late in his career he was lauded for his roles in a number of

films including Our Man In Havana (1959) and The Italian Job
(1968)

In 1970 came the long overdue knighthood. In 1973 he died

peacefully and was buried in his beloved Jamaica.

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 Noël Coward
Highlights of a life and career

1899 - 1938

1899
16 December, Noel Peirce Coward born in Teddington, Middlesex, eldest surviving son of Arthur
Coward, piano salesman and Violet. A “brazen, odious little prodigy”, his early circumstances were of
refined suburban poverty.

1907
First public appearances in school and community concerts.

1908
Family moved to Battersea and took in lodgers.

1911
First professional appearance as Prince Mussel in The Goldfish, produced by Lila Field at the Little
Theatre and revived in same year at Crystal Palace and Royal Court Theatre. Cannard, the page-
boy, in The Great Name at the Prince of Wales Theatre and William in Where the Rainbow Ends with
Charles Hawtrey’s Company at the Savoy Theatre.

1912
Directed The Daisy Chain and stage-managed The Prince’s Bride at Savoy in series of matinees
featuring the work of the children of the Rainbow cast. Mushroom in An Autumn Idyll ballet, Savoy.

1913
An angel (Gertrude Lawrence was another) in Basil Dean’s production of Hannele. Slightly in Peter
Pan, Duke of York’s.

1914
Toured in Peter Pan. Collaborated with fellow performer Esmé Wynne on songs, sketches, and short
stories – “beastly little whimsies”.

1915
Admitted to sanatorium for tuberculosis.

1916
Five-month tour as Charley in Charley’s Aunt. Walk-on in The Best of Luck, Drury Lane. Wrote first
full-length song, ‘Forbidden Fruit’. Basil Pycroft in The Light Blues, produced by Robert Courtneidge,
with daughter Cicely also in cast, Shaftesbury. Short spell as dancer at Elysee Restaurant
(subsequently the Café de Paris). Jack Morrison in The Happy Family, Prince of Wales.

1917
“Boy pushing barrow” in D.W. Griffith’s film Hearts of the World. Co-author with Esmé Wynne of one-

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acter lda Collaborates, Theatre Royal, Aldershot. Ripley Guildford in The Saving Grace, with Charles
Hawtrey, “who ... taught me many points of comedy acting”, Garrick. Family moved to Pimlico and re-
opened boarding house.

1918
Called up for army. Medical discharge after nine months. Wrote unpublished novels Cats and Dogs
and the unfinished Cherry Pan (“dealing in a whimsical vein with the adventures of a daughter of
Pan”) and lyrics for Darewski and Joel, including ‘When You Come Home on Leave’ and ‘Peter Pan’.
Also composed ‘Tamarisk Town’. Sold short stories to magazines. Wrote plays The Rat Trap, The
Last Trick (unproduced) and The Impossible Wife (unproduced). Courtenay Borner in Scandal,
Strand. Woman and Whiskey (co-author Esmé Wynne) produced at Wimbledon Theatre.

1919
Ralph in The Knight of the Burning Pestle, Birmingham Repertory, played with “a stubborn Mayfair
distinction” demonstrating a “total lack of understanding of the play”. Collaborated on Crissa, an
opera, with Esmé Wynne and Max Darewski (unproduced).

1920
Wrote and played Bobbie Dermon in “I’ll Leave It to You”, New Theatre, London 1921. On holiday in
Alassio, met Gladys Calthrop for the first time. Clay Collins in American farce Polly with a Past:
during the run “songs, sketches, and plays were bursting out of me”, First visit to New York, and sold
parts of A Withered Nosegay to Vanity Fair and short-story adaptation of “I’ll Leave It to You” to
Metropolitan. House-guest of Laurette Taylor and Hartley Manners, whose family rows inspired the
Bliss household in Hay Fever.

1922
Bottles and Bones (sketch) produced in benefit for Newspaper Press Fund, Drury Lane. The Better
Half produced in ‘grand guignol’ season, LittleTheatre. Started work on songs and sketches for
London Calling!. Adapted Louis Verneuil’s Pour avoir Adrienne (unproduced).

1923
Sholto Brent in The Young Idea, Savoy. Juvenile lead in a musical review for which he wrote book,
music and lyrics: London Calling!

1924
Wrote, directed and starred as Nicky Lancaster in The Vortex, produced at the Everyman by Norman
MacDermott and transferred to the Royalty Theatre .

1925
The Vortex moved to the Comedy Theatre. Noël became established as a social and theatrical
celebrity. Wrote On With the Dance (a musical revue), with London opening in spring followed by
Fallen Angels and Hay Fever (which Marie Tempest at first refused to do, feeling it was “too light and
plotless and generally lacking in action”). Hay Fever and Easy Virtue produced, New York. Wrote
silent screen titles for Gainsborough Films.

1926
Toured USA in The Vortex. This Was a Man was refused a licence by Lord Chamberlain in the UK
but produced in New York (1926), Berlin and Paris. Easy Virtue, The Queen Was in the Parlour and

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The Rat Trap produced, London. Played Lewis Dodd in The Constant Nymph, directed by Basil
Dean. Wrote Semi-Monde and The Marquise. Bought Goldenhurst Farm, Kent, as country home.
Sailed for Hong Kong on holiday but trip broken in Honolulu by nervous breakdown.

1927
The Marquise opened in London while Coward was still in Hawaii and The Marquise and Fallen
Angels produced in New Tork. Finished writing Home Chat. Sirroco produced, London.

1928
Clark Storey in S. N. Behrman’s The Second Man, directed by Dean. Gainsborough Films
productions of The Queen Was in the Parlour, The Vortex (starring Ivor Novello), and Easy Virtue
(directed by Alfred Hitchcock) released – but only the latter, freely adapted, a success. This Year of
Grace! produced, London and, with Coward directing and in cast, New York. Made first recording
featuring numbers from this show.

1929
Played in This Year of Grace! (USA) until spring. Wrote and Directed Bitter-Sweet, London and New
York. Set off on travelling holiday in Far East.

1930
On travels wrote Private Lives (1929) and song “Mad Dogs and Englishmen”, the latter on the road
from Hanoi to Saigon. In Singapore joined the Quaints, company of strolling English players, as
Stanhope for three performances of Journey's End. On voyage home wrote Post-Mortem, which was
“similar to my performance as Stanhope: confused, under-rehearsed and hysterical”. Directed and
played Elyot Chase in Private Lives, London, alongside Gertie Lawrence, Laurence Olivier and
Adrianne Allen.

1931
Elyot Chase in New York production of Private Lives with Gertie. Wrote and directed Cavalcade,
London. Film of Private Lives produced by MGM. Set off on trip to South America.

1932
On travels wrote Design for Living (hearing that Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne finally free to work
with him) and material for new revue including songs ‘Mad about the Boy’, ‘Children of the Ritz’ and
‘The Party's Over Now’. Produced in London as Words and Music, with book, music, and lyrics
exclusively by Coward and directed by him. The short-lived Noël Coward Company, an independent
company which enjoyed his support, toured UK with Private Lives, Hay Fever, Fallen Angels and The
Vortex.

1933
Directed Design for Living, New York and played Leo. Films of Cavalcade (which won a ‘best picture
Oscar’), To-Night Is Ours (remake of The Queen Was in the Parlour) and Bitter-Sweet released.
Directed London revival of Hay Fever. Wrote Conversation Piece as vehicle for Yvonne Printemps
and hit song ‘Mrs. Worthington’.

1934
D1rected Conversation Piece in London and played Paul. Cut links with C. B. Cochran and formed
own management in partnership with John C. Wilson and the Lunts. Appointed President of the

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Actors’ Orphanage, in which he invested great personal commitment until resignation in 1956.
Directed Kaufman and Ferber’s Theatre Royal at the Lyric and Behrman’s Biography, at the Globe.
Film of Design for Living released, London. Conversation Piece opened, New York. Started writing
autobiography: Present Indicative.

1935
Wrote and Directed Point Valaine, New York. Played lead in film The Scoundrel (Astoria Studios,
New York).

1936
Wrote and Directed and played in To-Night at 8.30 – 9 short plays in which he and Gertrude
Lawrence starred – Phoenix theatre London and National Theatre, New York. Directed Mademoiselle
by Jacques Deval, Wyndham’s.

1937
Played in To-Night at 8.30, New York, until second breakdown in health in March. Directed (and
subsequently disowned) Gerald Savory's George and Margaret, New York. Present Indicative
published, London and New York.

1938
Wrote and Directed Operette, London with hit song ‘The Stately Homes of England’. Words and
Music revised for American production as Set to Music. Appointed adviser to newly-formed Royal
Naval Film Corporation.

1939 - 1973

1939
Directed New York production of Set to Music. Visited Soviet Union and Scandinavia. Wrote Present
Laughter and This Happy Breed; rehearsals stopped by declaration of war. Wrote for revue All Clear,
London. Appointed to head Bureau of Propaganda in Paris to liaise with French Ministry of
Information, headed by Jean Giraudoux and Andre Maurois. This posting prompted speculative
attacks in the press, prevented by wartime secrecy from getting a clear statement of the exact nature
of his work. Troop concert in Arras with Maurice Chevalier. To Step Aside (short story collection)
published.

1940
Increasingly “oppressed and irritated by the Paris routine”. Visits USA to report on American
isolationism and attitudes to war in Europe. Return to Paris prevented by German invasion.
Returned to USA to do propaganda work for Ministry of Information. Propaganda tour of Australia
and New Zealand and fund-raising for war charities. Wrote play Time Remembered (unproduced).

1941
Mounting press attacks in England because of time spent allegedly avoiding danger and discomfort of
Home Front. Wrote Blithe Spirit, produced in London (with Coward directing) and New York. MGM
film of Bitter-Sweet (which Coward found “vulgar” and “lacking in taste”) released, London. Wrote

22
songs including ‘London Pride’, ‘Could You Please Oblige Us with a Bren Gun?’ and ‘Imagine the
Duchess's Feelings’.

1942
Wrote, produced and co-directed (with David Lean) In Which We Serve and appeared as Captain
Kinross (Coward considered the film “an accurate and sincere tribute to the Royal Navy”). He also
composed the film’s score. Played in countrywide tour of Blithe Spirit, Present Laughter and This
Happy Breed and gave hospital and factory concerts. MGM film of We Were Dancing released.

1943
Played Garry Essendine in London production of Present Laughter and Frank Gibbons in This Happy
Breed. Produced film of This Happy Breed for Two Cities Films. Wrote ‘Don’t Let’s Be Beastly to the
Germans’, first sung on BBC Radio (then banned on grounds of lines “that Goebbels might twist”).
Four-month tour of Middle East to entertain troops.

1944
February-September, toured South Africa, Burma, India and Ceylon. Troop concerts in France and
‘Stage Door Canteen Concert’ in London. Screenplay of Still LIfe, as Brief Encounter. Middle East
Diary, an account of his 1943 tour – published London and New York – where a reference to
“mournful little boys from Brooklyn” inspired formation of a lobby for the “Prevention of Noël Coward
Re-entering America”. The film adaptation of This Happy Breed by David Lean, Anthony Havelock-
Allan and Ronald Neame showcased in London.

1945
Sigh No More with hit song ‘Matelot’ completed and produced, London. Started work on Pacific 1860.
Film of Brief Encounter released.

1946
Wrote and Directed Pacific 1860, London.

I947
Garry Essendine in London revival of Present Laughter. Supervised production of Peace in Our
Time. Point Valaine produced, London. Directed American revival of To-Night at 8.30.

1948
Replaced Graham Payn briefly in American tour of To-Night at 8.30, his last stage appearance with
Gertrude Lawrence. Max Aramont in Joyeux Chagrins (French production of Present Laughter). Built
house at Blue Harbour, Jamaica.

1949
Wrote screenplay and starred as Christian Faber in film of The Astonished Heart. Wrote Ace of Clubs
and Home and Colonial (produced as Island Fling in USA and South Sea Bubble in UK).

1950
Wrote and Directed Ace of Clubs, London. Wrote Star Quality (short stories).

1951
Deaths of Ivor Novello and C. B. Cochran. Paintings included in charity exhibition in London. Wrote
and Directed Quadrille. One-night concert at Theatre Royal, Brighton, followed by season at Café de

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Paris, London and beginning of new career as leading cabaret entertainer. Wrote and directed
Relative Values, London, which restored his reputation as a playwright after run of post-war flops.
Island Fling produced, USA.

I952
Charity cabaret with Mary Martin at Café de Paris for Actors' Orphanage. June cabaret season at
Café de Paris. Directed Quadrille, London, starring Lynn Fontanne and Alfred Lunt. Red Peppers,
Fumed Oak and Ways and Means (from To-Night at 8.30) filmed as Meet Me To-Night. September,
death of Gertrude Lawrence: “no one I have ever known, however brilliant ... has contributed quite
what she contributed to my work”.

1953
Completed second volume of autobiography: Future Indefinite. King Magnus in Shaw’s The Apple
Cart. Cabaret at Café de Paris, again “a triumphant success”. Wrote After the Ball.

1954
After the Ball produced, UK. July, mother died. September, cabaret season at Café de Paris.
November, Royal Command Performance, London Palladium. Wrote Nude With Violin.

1955
June, opened in cabaret for season at Desert Inn, Las Vegas, and enjoyed “one of the most
sensational successes of my career”. Played Hesketh-Baggott in film of Around the World in Eighty
Days, for which he wrote own dialogue. Directed and appeared with Mary Martin in a live television
spectacular: Together with Music for CBS, New York.

1956
Charles Condomine in television production of Blithe Spirit for CBS, Hollywood. For tax reasons took
up Bermuda residency. Resigned from presidency of the Actors’ Orphanage. South Sea Bubble
produced, London. Directed and played part of Frank Gibbons in television production of This Happy
Breed for CBS, New York. Co-directed Nude With Violin with John Gielgud (Eire and UK), opening to
press attacks on Coward's decision to live abroad. Wrote Volcano, not produced in his lifetime.

1957
Directed and played Sebastien in Nude With Violin, New York.

1958
Played Garry Essendine in Present Laughter alternating with Nude With Violin on US West Coast
tour. Wrote ballet, London Morning for London Festival Ballet.

1959
Look After Lulu! produced, New York and by English Stage Company at Royal Court, London. Film
roles of Hawthorne in Our Man in Havana and ex-King of Anatolia in Surprise Package. London
Morning produced by London Festival Ballet. Sold home in Bermuda and took up Swiss residency.

1960
Wrote Waiting in the Wings – produced Eire and UK (Duke of York’s, London). Pomp and
Circumstance (novel) published, London and New York.

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1961
Wrote and directed American production of Sail Away starring Elaine Stritch. Waiting in the Wings
published, New York.

1962
Sail Away produced, UK (Savoy Theatre, London).

1963
Wrote music and Lyrics for The Girl Who Came to Supper (adaptation of Rattigan’s The Sleeping
Prince, previously filmed as The Prince and the Showgirl) – produced, USA. Revival of Private Lives
at Hampstead signals renewal of interest in his work in the UK.

1964
“Supervised” production of High Spirits, musical adaptation of Blithe Spirit, Savoy. Introduced
Granada TV’s ‘A Choice of Coward’ series, which included Present Laughter, Blithe Spirit, The Vortex
and Design for Living. Directed Hay Fever for National Theatre – the first living playwright to direct his
own work there. Pretty Polly Barlow (short story collection) published.

1965
Played the landlord in film – Bunny Lake is Missing. Badly weakened by attack of amoebic dysentery
contracted in Seychelles.

1966
Wrote and starred in Suite in Three Keys at the Queen’s Theatre London, which taxed his health
further.

1967
Caesar in TV musical version of Androcles and the Lion (score by Richard Rodgers), New York.
Witch of Capri in film Boom, adaptation of Tennessee Williams’ play The Milk Train Doesn’t Stop Here
Any More. Lorn Loraine, Coward’s manager and friend for many years, died, London. Worked on
new volume of autobiography: Past Conditional. Bon Voyage (short story collection) published.

1968
Played Mr. Bridger, the criminal mastermind, in The Italian Job.

1970
Awarded knighthood in New Year’s Honours List.

1971
Tony Award, USA, for 'Distinguished Achievement in the Theatre'.

1973
16 March, died peacefully at his home in Blue Harbour, Jamaica. Buried on Firefly Hill.

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 1940’s Britain
‘Brief Encounter’ provides a great insight into British society
marriage and the role of women in that era. Despite there being
a war on, Laura appears to have escaped the hardships of
rationing or having to join the war effort, but she is nevertheless
a tortured soul. It is clear that Laura’s marriage to Fred is a
passionless one and that her role as a wife and mother is not
fulfilling her. She is however, a typical middle class housewife
of the 1940’s and in those days, to have an affair was truly
scandalous.

In the 1940’s women who were married only went out to work if
they were poverty stricken or of the right age (20-30) to be
conscripted to help with the war effort. Once the war was over
they were expected to return to their roles as housewives. It is
difficult to imagine now but at that time, women were not
welcomed in the workplace and it wasn’t until 1946 the post
office and civil service allowed women to work for them.

And so, the average housewife’s routine revolved around her

husband and children and any personal goals she may have
she pushed aside in order to carry out what was expected of
her as wife and mother.

Laura appears to be relatively content but it is clear that her

marriage is more a marriage of convenience than of true love.
During her encounters with Alec, she reveals her secret desires
and passions, and it is through her attraction to Alec that she
reveals her hidden personality.

The British ‘stiff upper lip’ is brilliantly demonstrated in ‘Brief

Encounter’. It was a time when emotions were reserved and
feelings kept secret so for Laura and Alec to have declared
their love for each other was both daring and risky. They both
know however that they could not pursue their affair and the
26
guilt that they felt, influenced by society’s view of adultery,
forced them to go back to their marriages.

Photo: Steve Tanner

Photo: Steve Tanner

27
 Activities
The following activities are suggestions for ways in which
teachers can engage students with the themes and characters
in the play.

In order to help you find the right activities for your class please
refer to the overview below.

‘Love Letters’
Suggestions for Literacy based tasks exploring the themes of
love and marriage. For some tasks the students are required to
write from the perspective of a character from the play.

‘Debating Den’
The students are asked to arrange their classroom for a
debating session. They need to elect a chair to manage the
debate and a panel of experts who need to carry out research
to support their argument. The rest of the students form the
audience who can be asked for their input. A list of suggestions
for debate is provided.

‘My wife is having an affair…’

This is a fun task that can be done prior to seeing the show.
It encourages students to consider the viewpoints and
feelings of people like Laura and Fred.

‘Reading between the lines’

The students are asked to consider what signals are sent out
when two people are attracted to each other. What is
acceptable behavior?

‘Examining Brief Encounter’

The students are given a series of questions to answer about
the production of ‘Brief Encounter’ which will help them to write
an essay or review about it.

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 ‘Love Letters’
The following Literacy based activities can be used with your
students after seeing the play ‘Brief Encounter’.

• After the Affair - Imagine you are either Alec or Laura and
write a love letter to the other after the affair has ended. Decide
how long it is after the affair and write about how life is now. Do
you still feel the same way? How has it been since you last saw
each other? Do you want to keep in touch?

• Dear Diary – Imagine you are Fred, Laura’s husband and

write a diary entry for the day that Laura returns home and
seems distracted by her thoughts. Do you know why she is like
this? Are you aware of the cracks in your marriage? How do
you feel about the fact that she went to the cinema with a
stranger?

• Agony Aunt – Imagine you are an agony aunt for a women’s

magazine and you have received a letter from Beryl about
Stanley, asking for advice about love. What would you tell her?
What sort of questions might she want answered? How will she
know if it is love or lust that she feels for Stanley?

• Love and Marriage Project – Imagine you’ve been

commissioned to write a book about attitudes towards love and
marriage in 2018. Interview as many people as you can from
different age groups and get their views. Use these to create
your book. You could include photographs if any interviewees
are willing to lend them. How do the views of different age
groups compare or differ?

• No Good at Love – Students can discuss or write their

thoughts on ‘No Good at Love’, a poem of Noel Coward’s which
features in the production.

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 ‘Debating Den’
This activity is designed to get your students debating issues
raised by the themes of ‘Brief Encounter’.

The following list of issues can be discussed prior to reading

the play or seeing the show or after.

1) Marriage – Do you believe in it? What are your views on

divorce? Are there gender roles within marriage? Should
couples share housework for instance?

2) Monogamy – Can we really be happy if we commit to a

relationship with just one partner for the rest of our lives? Are
humans by nature monogamous?

3) Adultery – What do you think about extra-marital affairs?

What do you think constitutes cheating? How and why do you
think affairs might happen? Are affairs immoral?

4) Love – Does love conquer all? What would you do for the
one you love? What is the difference between love and lust?
Do you believe in love at first sight? Do you believe in soul
mates? Can you be in love with two people at the same time?

5) Sexuality – Does it matter what your sexual preferences

are? Should you keep your sexual habits to yourself? When
is it ok to have sex? What do you understand by the term
consent?

Setting up the Debate

It is important to give the students the responsibility for setting

up the room as they wish it to be. This will give them ownership
of the debating den and encourage them to engage. Once the
room is organised, introduce the topic for debate.
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Assigning the Roles

Ask the students to volunteer to take on the various roles

needed to hold a debate – chairperson/presenter, audience,
experts. It is important to stress that you will need people to
take on opposing points of view in order to make the debate
fair. Asking the students to do this will encourage them to
consider other points of view and will help keep them engaged.
Remember to make it clear to all students that they are in role
so some people may be expressing views that are not their
own. All students will need to carry out some research into the
area for debate, especially those who are taking on the role of
an expert.

Let the Debate Begin

Try as best you can to allow the students to manage their own
debate but be on hand if it gets personal! Again, be clear when
the debate is over and make sure that everyone comes out of
role. Add to your list of issues for debate after you have seen
the show.

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 ‘My wife is having an affair…’
This is an activity which you can do prior to watching the play.

For this activity you will need to move tables and chairs in your
classroom to resemble a TV station chat show. The task is to
encourage an open debate in which the audience can
participate like Jeremy Kyle. You will therefore need to identify
someone to be the host (a role which you may prefer to take on
yourself) and two people to take on the roles of the characters
listed below. These two can be assisted with a small team of
helpers who can give the characters advice about what they
should say. The main dialogue can be improvised but Laura
must admit to having the affair so that the audience can help
Fred decide what to do.

Laura - Housewife, mother of two children, one boy, one girl.

Married to Fred, a reliable, unemotional man who does not
always pay great attention to Laura. She is a passionate but
restrained woman who feels slightly restless in her married life.
She has met another man and had a brief affair which she is
deeply ashamed of. She does not ever want her husband to
know and does not want her marriage to end.

Fred - Husband to Laura, father of their two children.

Hardworking, consistent and steadfast man. Provider. Fred
believes all is well in his world until he discovers that his wife
Laura is having an affair. He wants to confront her and needs
the help of the audience to do this. He does not want his
marriage to end but he cannot ignore the affair.

It would be interesting to note what advice is given to Fred and

Laura during this interaction and to re-visit the task after
viewing the play. Have people’s sympathies changed? Do they
feel more strongly drawn to the plight of one or other character
32
having watched the play? Why? Has the historical context
affected their opinion? Does it make a difference that they only
kissed?

Photo: Steve Tanner

33
 ‘Reading Between the Lines’
Gather together images of different couples. It would be useful
to have images of both young and old and you may wish to find
images of characters from television programmes that the
students watch.

Ask the students to get into pairs and to examine an image of a

couple. After discussing it with their partner, ask the students to
list all that they can read from the image.

Are the couple attracted to each other or are they just friends?
How can you tell? Does one person seem more interested in
the other? Have they had a row? How can you tell? What does
they body language indicate? If the two people are talking, what
might they be saying to one another? How does the way they
are dressed affect the way they are perceived?

Once they have done this, ask the students to swap their
picture with another pair and repeat the exercise. When all
pairs have examined two images ask the student s to get into
groups with those who have looked at the same image and
compare notes.

When all groups have had time to discuss the images, ask
them to consider what we see as acceptable expressions of
love in British society. How does this compare to other
countries and cultures?

34
 ‘Discussing Brief Encounter’
The following activity is designed to help students to develop a
critical mind when viewing a piece of theatre or reading a play.

The following questions can be used as a starting point for a

discussion, an essay or a review.

1) What does the story of Brief Encounter tell us about

marriage in 1938? How have things changed?

2) How is the sexual tension shown on stage between the two

characters of Laura and Alec?

3) Compare the courtship of Beryl and Stanley to the affair of

Laura and Alec - what are the differences, what are the
similarities? What does this add to the play?

4) What do you think the recurring images of waves and

swimming represent?

5) How effective is the use of screen projection throughout the

play? Why do you think projection is used in this production?

6) Why do you think ‘Brief Encounter’ has been brought to the

stage? What kind of opportunities arise on stage that would not
be possible in a film?

7) What do you notice about the speech and mannerisms of

Laura and Alec compared to the other characters in the play?
What does this tell us about their social standing?

8) What do you think stops Laura from ending her life?

35
9) If Laura and Alec were to have met in today’s society what
might happen? How might technology impact on their
relationship?

10) In what way does the writing influence your opinion of the
characters? Do you feel sympathetic towards Alec and Laura?
If so, why?

11) How is music used in the production, and what effect does
it have? Which musical moments stood out to you, and why?

12) Does this production of ‘Brief Encounter’ feel relevant to

today’s world? If yes, how does it achieve this? If no, why not?
How might you do things differently in your own version of ‘Brief
Encounter’?

13) How is physical movement and dance used in ‘Brief

Encounter’? What do characters’ movements say about them?
Think about Beryl on the scooter, or Laura’s and Alec’s
movements when they are in private versus when they are
public.

14) Why do you think the production is set in a cinema? What

does this add to the show?

15) At the heart of ‘Brief Encounter’ is a story about forbidden

love and heartache, yet the production is peppered with funny
moments. How is humour used to bring lightness and comedy
to the story?

16) How did the staging, the set design and the lighting bring
the show to life?

36
Bibliography

Can Any Mother Help Me? Jenna Bailey

When, in 1935, a young woman wrote a letter to the women's

magazine "Nursery World" women from all over the country
wrote back expressing similar frustrations. This work brings
together this collection of personal stories following an
extraordinary group of women.

Useful Links

The Noel Coward Estate

http://www.noelcoward.com

Kneehigh
http://www.kneehigh.co.uk/

Kneehigh’s ‘Brief Encounter’ education pack

http://www.kneehigh.co.uk/userfiles/files/Kneehigh%20-
%20Brief%20Encounter%20-
%20Notes%20for%20Students.pdf

Is ‘Brief Encounter’ the most romantic film of all time?

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2010/oct/16/brief-
encounter-romance

Emma Rice on her 2018 production of ‘Brief Encounter’

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=crAjzKeZwqk

Image credits
Production images: Steve Tanner
Cover image and artwork: Hugo Glendinning and Bob King
Creative

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